Chapter 33
Part 32
“An unexpected gain.”
Without any regret, Yugeon returned to his boat.
After clearing Floor 33, Yugeon entered the waterway leading toward Floor 34.
The scenery began changing rapidly.
The forest of submerged buildings disappeared.
Massive cliffs rose on either side.
The current became violently fast.
[Floor 34: Great Canyon of Rapids]
ROOOOOAR!
After traveling deeper into the canyon...
Yugeon reached a fork.
A deafening roar echoed ahead.
The entire boat shook violently.
Even though it was reinforced by magic...
It looked as fragile as a leaf before the overwhelming force of nature.
“It's still here.”
The left passage.
In the distance...
A gigantic whirlpool hundreds of meters across blocked the path.
A black hole devouring all surrounding water.
Anything pulled inside, boat or human, would be torn apart.
Because of that...
Most Awakeners chose the right path.
Some had once wondered what existed beyond the left route.
They used countless items and skills to force their way through the whirlpool.
But when they finally passed it...
There had been nothing special.
The route simply continued toward the same destination.
It's only a split route.
Eventually, both paths reunited.
When Awakeners discovered that...
They felt cheated.
They had spent expensive items and powerful skills just to travel down another version of the same road.
But there actually is an item.
More precisely...
The item was not beyond the whirlpool.
It was beneath it.
Shing.
Ding!
[You have activated Heaven-Annihilating One Sword.]
[Feat 1 has been consumed.]
FLASH!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Yugeon's strike erased the raging whirlpool.
The water itself split apart.
[Item: Fragment of the Monarch]
Grade: Legendary
Type: ?
“Exactly the same.”
Yugeon picked up the black fragment.
It was about the size of his palm and looked like broken glass.
He had obtained this item in his previous life too.
Only its name and grade were displayed.
There was no description.
Not even a proper item category.
Yet the energy radiating from this tiny fragment was overwhelming.
This small piece had created that enormous whirlpool.
In my previous life, I tried absorbing its power.
Every attempt failed.
The energy could not be properly absorbed.
Whenever Yugeon forcibly extracted some of it and tried to use it...
He nearly lost his mind.
But now I know how to use it.
Yugeon stored the fragment in his spatial bag.
He needed three more.
Once he obtained all three...
He had to go to a certain place.
I discovered the purpose of these fragments far too late last time.
VROOOOM!
Splash!
After securing the item...
Yugeon continued forward.
I only need one more thing before leaving the Tower.
He checked the time and increased the boat's speed.
He still had some time.
But not enough to waste it.
Let's go.
Floor 35.
His final goal was there.
[Floor 35: Water Dragon Temple]
After quickly clearing the floor requirements, Yugeon drove his boat through the area while searching.
“Quiet.”
He sat on the bow and watched ahead.
Splashhhhh.
I should be close.
Then...
Whoooosh.
The fog slowly cleared.
A gigantic structure appeared.
Ancient ruins floating over the water.
Half-collapsed marble pillars rose above the surface.
Moss covered everything.
It must once have been a magnificent temple.
Now...
Half-submerged and abandoned...
It looked gloomy and desolate.
Here.
Yugeon slowed the boat and headed toward the entrance.
Then...
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion came from inside the temple.
It was not a monster's roar.
Something had broken apart.
Then he heard an irritated, young voice shouting.
“Ugh...! Maintain coordinates... Spatial compression density to maximum...!”
Yugeon's lips curved upward.
Found him.
The last member of the Godslayers.
The Space Ruler.
Kang Woojin.
He was here.
“Haa... Haa... Cough!”
In the central plaza of the temple...
A boy was frantically tapping holographic panels floating in the air.
He looked barely eighteen.
Round glasses.
An oversized robe almost as large as his entire body.
Kang Woojin.
A gigantic monster stood in front of him.
It was the same kind of commander boss that had emerged from the Tower in Choibalsan during the recent Wave.
The ruler of Floor 35.
The Lizardman King.
But this one was on another level compared to the Wave version.
Protected by the temple's blessing...
Its body was almost twice as large.
A blue barrier surrounded its entire body.
